Electric generating system



Aug. l, 1950 w. H. RuDlslLL ELECTRIC GENERATING SYSTEM 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 15, 1947 INVENTOR. WESLEY H RUD/S/LL L .A 5 s v m 3 .a E l .t ml! N 9 e 7 e 9 ND ,a R M M M VLM .Q w s f fb m v 2 .t .A H. s j v I y :AWM: lnw S m 5w W W L W. L G S m. m T u m R m H G. I m 6 w m n C [Q /o m E u w 0 a F 1N uw u d w e H A F A118- l, 1950 w. H. RUDISILL 2,517,135

ELECTRIC GENERATING SYSTEM Filed Aug. l5, 1947 '7 Sheets-Sheet 4 JNVENTOR.

Aug. l, 1950 w. H. RUDlslLL ELECTRIC GENERATING SYSTEM Filed Aug. 15, 1947 '7 Sheets-Sheet 5 WESLEY H. RUD/S/LL JNVENToR.

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T TORNE Aug. 1, 1950 w. H. RunlssLL ELECTRIC GENERATING SYSTEM 7 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed Aug. 15, 1947 INVENTOR.

WESLEY H. RUD/S/LL ATToR/vfy Aug l, 1950 w. H. RUDlsILL 2,517,135

ELECTRIC GENERATING SYSTEM Filed Aug. l5, 1947 '7 Sheets-Sheet '7 INVENTOR,

A TTORNEy l l I l I I Patented Aug. 1, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT oEFicE ELEC'iTRlC GENERATING SYSTEM Wesley H. Rudisill, Philadelphia, Pa.

Application August 15, 1947, Serial No. '768,909

S Claims.

1 This invention relates to the generation of electric energy by the utilization of the power of the wind. More particularly, it relates to a generator driven by a wind-driven turbine and means for controllingand regulating the turnecessary to keep the turbine facing directly i' into the wind at all times in order to derive the maximum amount of energy from the wind. When the velocity of the wind gets so high that Due to the numerous the turbine will develop more power than the y equipment will stand with safety, means must 'l be provided to lessen the effect of the wind on the turbine. Further, Whenever the speed of the turbine becomes excessive due to lack of load such as might be caused by an electric generator i or transmission line failure. means for automatically stopping the unit must be provided.

To date, the solution of these problems in a satisfactory manner has not beenachieved. No

suitable means have been found for taking care of the varying wind velocities without involving a great sacrifice in the operating eiciency under conditions of either low or high wind velocity. Means for utilizing all the wind energy within the capacity of the wind turbine through a large range of wind velocities have not heretofore been practical.

An object of this invention is,` therefore, to provide a wind powergenerating which 'utilizes the maximum amount of wind energy when' the velocity of the wind is such that the turbine cannot fully load the generator.

An object of this invention is to provide a wind power generating device provided with means permitting operation under high wind velocity conditions without overloading the generator.

An object of this invention is to provide a wind power generating device having adjustable delection means to control the wind energy delivered to the turbine.

Another object of this invention is to provide a wind power generating device having means whereby the wind turbine may be turned partially out of the wind in order to reduce the delivery of wind energy to the turbine.

Another object of this invention is to provide a wind power generating device with means for turning and keeping the turbine out of the wind and stopping the rotation of the turbine under 2 conditions of excessive Wind velocity or breakclown.

This and other objects of the invention will become apparent from the following description, read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevation' of the wind turbine device, partly in section to show certain details;

Figure `2 is a front view of the `wind turbine and deiiector;` i

Figure 3 is a rear view of the brake. mechanism;

Figure 4 nism;

Figure 5 its housing;

Figure 6 consists of a vertical section on the plane 5-6 of Figure 5 through the booms and associated mechanism;

Figure '7 is a horizontal section on the plane indicated at 'i-T in Figure 8-:showing certain control units in plan; l

Figure 8 is a vertical section showing the control units in elevation; i

Figure 9 is a vertical section showing the control gear and its associated contacts, the section being taken on the plane 9 9 in Figure '7;

Figure 10 is a wiring diagrarnvshowing electrical connections of the control mechanism;

Figure 11 is a sectional View of the connections between the inclined plane and its arm;

Figure 12 is an enlarged sectional view of the Wind controlled governor and its associated mechanism; and

Figure 13 is a wiring diagram illustrating certain control connections. v

A Wind turbine I(Figure 1') of conventional type comprises blades 2 carried by a wheel 4 which is 'xedly secured to a shaft 6. The shaft 5 is rotatably mounted in thrust bearings at its opposite ends vin supports 8 and I8 which are secured to a platform I3.

Fixedly secured to the support 8 is a coneshaped hub `I2. A brake drum I4 is secured to the rear face of wheel 4 and carries bevel gear i6. Pinion gear I8 meshes with bevel gear I6 and is xedly secured to shaft 20 which drives the alternating current generator 22.

A trip'hammer 24 (Figures 3 and 4') is located in a recess 2S in shaft 6 and is biased inwardly by spring 28. A lever 30 is pivotally mounted on support 32 at 34 and connected by rod 36 to lever 38 which in turn is pivotallyrmounted on support 4E) at 42. Lever 30 is biased downwardly by a spring 3|. Lever 38 has a shoulder 44 which is adapted to engage a rod 46 xedly secured to a bent lever 48 which is pivotally mounted at 58. Brake band 52 is secured to 1ever 48 at 54 and' to supportis at 5B;

is a side View of the' brake mechais aside View showing a boom and Tension spring 60 is fixedly secured to bar 62 which is pivotally secured to bent lever 48 at 52. Rod 64 is secured to spring 60 and passes through support 56. A nut 66 threaded to the rod 65| provides. for adjustment-of the tension of spring 60. A solenoid 68 is secured to the lever 68 at 18 in such a manner that it can operate the lever 66 so as to release rod 46 from shoulder 44. The

solenoid 68 may be remotely operated byi switch. 69. An electromagnetic brake reset device 12 may be connected to bent lever 48'atv14'and operated by a switch 13 located at. a. remote point..

A circular housing 14 (Figure 1) is constructed around the wind turbine I. supported by platform |13 and supports 15. This housinghas; a diameter slightly larger than: the diameter of the wind turbine and forms a wind tunnel; Thisfhousing 14` supportsr'a tower 116: on which `an anemometer V1B -and' a metalV wind direc'- tion pennant 80: are rotatably mounted.

Platform I3 is supported bythe sidewalls 84 off compartment: 861 whic'l'rf has'. a iioor' supported oni tube 68,-. Tube 88A is secured to platform -20 which is nio-interi ou wheels 92 which run on: a circular track 94 located'- on. the roof 96 of house 98. Struts support ring |02. Ring |03 is xedlyy secured'. to tube` 88' and is ball-bearing mounted for rotation within ring |02.

An air dector |04 (Figures 1 andi 2i)v having the shape of a hollow truncated cone hase re.- inforcingirings IUE-and.' |08.. Ring' |0i6 is xedly secured to booms |I0 and ||2 by braces ||'4"and IfI16. Struts |'|8.and' |20 are secured to' ring |06 throughl deilector |04 and are ii'Xe'dly-secured': to booms ||0 and |I2, respectively. Members', 12| and"V I 23 form: an 'additional' connectionV between the booms andv ringv I`08` Booms I0 and I I2 are telescopedlwithin housings shawn4 generally atl |25 (Figure 6). The housings |25 are formed byy sidewalls |-|1, top membersl ||9" and 'oor members |20 The booms 'I-I0fand I |2 arecarried between rollers |'22fwhich are rotatably mounted?. above and below the booms |`|0iand II2' onrods |24. Boomsf tl'eand I |2 have securedfto their lower'faces brackets |26 which pass'- throughv slots' |28=`V in the" cor members |20-, Fixedlyv secured to brackets |26v are travellingV nuts |30 which are threaded on the shafts |32 whichV are mounted in brackets |34 and 35 secured to the lower face-of oor member |29; The shafts |3`2carryigears |36 which mesh with worm gears |38 carriedbythe shaft |60 which is driven byl a motor I 42 through reduction gears |43;

Travelling nut |30 Von the boom: H6: carries projections|44 and' |546 (Figure 5) whichlactuate switches |48 and"|50, respectively.

Compartment 86 (Fig-ures'f and`8) contains'the majority of the elements of thefcontrol system which are shown in Figures 7, 8 and 9;v Arm. |52 i's xedly secured tol the nut |3001c boom IIIil and hasA afork-shaped portion |54 at'its lower end which ts over an inclined plane member |56. A plunger |58 actuated by a solenoid'- |60 is biased by spring I6 I- so as to engage aperture |62 inthe inclined planeA member |56 to lock' the `arm |52 to;A the inclined plane |56' as shown in Figure 11..

The-inclined plane |56 is-mounted in av grooved guide |641. Rod |66'ca'rries contacts |68 and |16 and is. slidably held. by collars'y |12 and |14 mounted on bracket |16-, A wheel |18 secured to the'lowenend.l of rod |1665v rests onI the inclined plane |56.. (Figuresru: and.1.2l)

Arm |80' is pivotally attached'toa Starld |8221?" The housing 11i.- is- |84 and carries contact |86 which is adapted to make with either contact |68 or |10. Movable ring |88 of a governor |90 coacts with forked end |69 of arm |80 and |92. Ring |96 of governor |96 is xedly secured to shaft |96. At |96 shaft |96 is connected to a flexible shaft |99V which is, in turn, connected to the anemometer 16. A plunger 200 in a liquid dampening pot 26| is securedto the arm by rod 202.

A coil spring 204 is secured to the arm |66 at 206 and to a nut 208. Vertical guides 2 I2 preventthe nut 208 from turning when shaft 2 I2 cn which it is threaded is rotated by reversible motor 2I4-through gears 2 I6 and 2|8.

Teeth 220 on inclined plane |56 (Figure '7) mesh with pinion. gear 222 which ini turn meshes with teeth 224 cut in rack 226. Rack 226; sheld in contact with pinion gear 222 by a pivoting strap 222 securedY to gear 222.

Spring 236i biases rack 226l against wheel of bell crank 232 which in turn rests against stop 234. Solenoid 236 is adapted to attract bell crank 232to force the teeth 238 of rack 226 into mesh with gear 240,

Control gear IZ4!) is rotatably mounted on member 24|. Motor'242 is connected to gear 240 by shaft 244 and gear 246.

Flexible shaft 246 (Figure 9) is secured atone end to wind pennant 80 and at the other end tocollar 250, to which is securedP a contactA arm 252 carrying contact 254 which lies between and is adapted to make with either contact 256- or 258. which are secured to and insulated from the top face of gear 240. These elements are so aligned that when the turbine is facing directly into the Wind, contact 254v will lie midway between contacts 256 and 256 ifthe gear'240 is in its'normal position as described below. When in thisposition, the arm 252 lies on the fore and aft centerline of compartment 86.

Contact 26| is secured to and insulated from the lower face of gear 240 and makes' with contact 263. This is the normalposition of gear Contact 260'is insulated from and secured to, the lower face of gear 240'. When gear 240 is in its normal position contact 260 makes 4with the counterclockwise end of strip contact 262 which is in the form of a circular arc and adapted to makefwith contact 260 for of rotation clockwise from the normal position of gear 226. At the clockwise end of strip contact 262 is a block 264 kof insulating material.

Knob 268, which is made of insulating material and is secured to the lower face of gear 260?, holds switch lever 210 in a position against spring 212 so that the contact 214 which is secured to the endr of, and is insulated from, lever 210will not make with contact 216 when the gear 240 is in the normal position 8) 280 by xed ring 262 and movable ring 283. Shaft 26e. is supporte-e4 by bearings 284-and 286 and. has agear 281 which meshes with gear 266 which in turny meshes with gear 290 which is hxedly secured to shaft 20. Gear 286 is .secured to shaft 282.

Arm 298 is pivotally mounted on stand 306. Contact arm 364 is secured to arm 298 and is adapted to carry contact 306 between contacts 303 and 3||| so that it can make either 0f them. Contacts 308 and 3 I 0 are carried by and insulated from bracket SI2 which is secured to stand 366. Arm 296 coacts with movable ring 283 ci governor 218. Rod 3|6 secured to arm 296 at 31.8 cons nects arm 298 to a plunger 320 in dampening pot 32|.

A coil spring 322 is secured to arm 298 and to nut 326. Vertical guides 328 prevent the nut 326 from rotating when shaft 329, to which it is threaded, is rotated by a reversible motor 336 through gears 332 and 334.

Motor 336 (Figure l) is secured to the underside of roof 96 and drives through reduction gearing shaft 338 which, through gear 340, is connected to gear 342, secured to the underside of platform 90.

House 98 in addition contains a storage battery 344, a motor generator 346 and a gasoline driven D. C. generator 341.

The construction and operation of the control circuits shown in Figures and 13 will be best understood by considering an exemplary set of design and wind conditions. Assume that the generator 22 is delivering its energy into a system network 348 in which there are other generators driven by steam and in parallel with the generator 22. Assume also that frequency control is vested in some other generator in the system. In addition, let us assume the following design conditions:

(a) At wind velocities of less than 4 M. P. H. the generator will motor and draw sufficient energy from the electrical system to run at synchronous speed.

(b) At wind velocities of between 4 M. P. H. and M. P. H. the generator will be partially loaded.

(c) At l5 M. P. H. power input from the wind into the generator will fully load the generator if the turbine is facing directly into the wind and deflector |04 is supplying the turbine with the maximum amount of air.

(d) At velocities above 15 M. P. H. and up to 50 M. P. H. the movement of deector |04 can control the effect of the wind on the wheel so that the generator will be fully loaded but not overloaded.

As shown in Figure 13, motor generator 346 is connected to system network 348 and delivers direct current to control supply circuit 350 which has a storage battery 35| connected to it in parallel. In case of a power failure in network 343 relay 354 cuts motor generator 346 out of control supply circuit 350 and relay 356 cuts in and starts up gasoline driven D. C. generator 341 to supply control supply circuit 350 iny a conventional manner.

Line 352 of supply circuit 350 (Figure 10) is connected to contact 254 on arm 252. shift in the wind causes the pennant 80 to rotate thus causing contact 254 to make with either control 256 or 258. If the wind moves clockwise, say from north towards east, contact 254 makes contact 258 and through line 354 energizes relay coil 356 in reversing control 358 which controls motor 336. Motor 336 is thereby caused to drive shaft 338 (Figure 1), gear 340 and through gear 332 causing platform 90 to rotate clockwise which results in compartment 86 being rotated. Thus A slight l.

in a counterclockwise direction causing gear 2404 to move in a counterclockwise direction until contact 256 between contact 254 is broken at which point the turbine blades 2 will again be facing into the wind.

If the wind velocity is less than 15 M. P. H., the booms ||0 and ||2 will be fully housed and the deflector |04 will be providing the maximum amount of wind to the turbine blades 2. With the deector |04 in this position', the turbine facing directly into the wind and a wind velocity of l5 M. P. H., the generator 22 will be fully loaded.

When the velocity of the wind increases above 15 M. P. H. to say 20 M. P. the anemometer 18 through flexible shaft |99 causes the ring |88 of governor to be raised causing arm |80 to pivot and bring contact |86 into contact with contact |10. This completes a series circuit from line 352 of supply circuit 35.0 through relay arm 355 and contact 356 of relay 358, line 360, contact |86, Contact |10, line 362, contact 366 and relay arm 364 of relay 368, line 310, knife blade 312 and Contact 314 of switch |48, and line 316 to coil 318 of reversing control switch 380 which controls motor |42. This causes motor |42 to drive shaft |40, gears |38 and |36, shafts |32 and move nuts |30 in such direction that the booms |0 and A| |2 are moved outwardly carrying deiiector |64 away from turbine 2 (Figure 6).

As the nut |30 on boom ||0 moves boom Il!) out, it carries with it arm |52 which is locked to inclined plane |56 by plunger |58. Thus inclined plane |56 is moved to the left looking at Figure 8 which permits wheel |18 and rod |66 to move downwardly until contact |10 is moved out of contact with contact |86 which, of course, deenergizes coil 318 causing motor |42 to stop. It will be apparent that the slope of inclined plane |56 is selected so that the motor |42 is caused to stop at the point where the turbine blades 2 are being provided with sufficient wind to operate the generator 22 at its fully loaded condition.

Should the velocity of the wind now decrease to say 18 M. P. H., the speed of rotation of governor |96 will decrease resulting in a lowering of ring |88 and a resultant raising of contact |86 to a positionwhere it makes with contact |68. This makes a series circuit from line 360 through contact |86, contact |63, line 386, contact 382 and relay arm 384 of relay 386, line 388, line 390 leading to contact 216 which is not in contact Awith contact 214 since gear 240 is in the normal position, line 392. knife 394 and contact 396 of switch |58 (which were engaged when the boom H6 moved out of the fully housed position and switch operating lever |43 was carried outwardly by nut |36) line 398, contact 263, contact 26| and line 468 to coil 462 of reversing control switch 360 which causes motor |122 to drive so as to move the booms ||0 and ||2 inwardly causing the deflector |64 to move inwardly and supply the blades 2 with more wind. At the same time, the inclined plane as seen in Figure 8 is being moved to the right by arm |52 causing contact |68 to be raised. When the generator 2'2 is again fully loaded, the contact between contacts |86 and |68 will be broken stopping the movement of deflector |04.

l/Vhen the velocity of the wind reaches 50 M. P. H., the generator 22 will be fully loaded and the deiiector |04 will be in the fully extended position. Projection |44 on the nut |30 attached to boom ||0 will have caused knife 312 of switch |48 to have been thrown from contact 314 to contact 404.

News theveioeiey ofthe Windl exceeds: o" M. P. governor i269 v'fillf act to lower contact'i i855'- into contact with vcontact V1.0'. As we. have seen above', this energizes knife bladey 312 of switch 148. Since blade 312 is now' in contact with contact 454' which is connected to solenoids 21B-sand V65 through lines lt and 448-, the sole noi'ds 235 and Hill are energized. Solenoid 236 forces the teeth 23B into mesh with gear 240 while solenoidy l-i disengages plunger 58 from the inclined plane tot thus'separating arm |52 from the inclined plane. l i f In addition, coil 4140i' reversing motor control 4H* is energized through the series circuit from contact 4de through line 412, relay arm M4 and contact 444 o relay S58, line M8 and line 420'. The control 4H causes motor 242 (Figure '7) t0 drive shaft 244 and gear '2465 in such a direction that gear 24ov is driven clockwise breaking contactg 26 and 243 and making contacts 214' and 216.

Gearr 24] as it rotates carries contact 256 against contact 254 energizing coil 352 and causing motor 336 to rotate platform Sel count'erclockwise resulting in turning the blades 2 out of the wind.

' Further, the gear 24! moves rack 225 towards gear 222 whichcauses gear 222 to rotate clockwise, thus moving the: inclined plane so as to lower contact i12 until it nolonger is in contact with governor controlled contact 18S at the point when, the generator 22 is just fully loaded. Should the wind decrease from 60 lM. P. H. to say 55' M. P. governor 99 will cause contact tot to make with contact. 68. and causing, as we have seen, Contact 215 to be, energized. Since blade 21o now. connects contacts 214 and 216, coil 422 is energized causing motor 242. to rotate gear 2411 counterclockwise. and contact 258 makes contact 254 energizing coil 355. causing platform SQ to rotate clockwise and the blades. 2 to be turnedmorev into the wind. Rack 225 through v yerator 22 is. fullyy loadedY it breaks with. contact When the wind velocity drops to 50 M. P. H., gear '242i will bein the normal position, that is, with Contact 26! making Contact 223 and contact,2.1.4 and contact 216 broken. If the velocity oithe wind then falls further, contact E86 will make Contact 45.8 causing, as we have already seen, motor |42 to; move the booms im and H2 inwardly.- Since projection E44 is ,moved from switchY 44S,- knife will be shifted by a biasing spring from contact 424 to contact 314 resulting in the deenergization of solenoids |69 and 235 (Figures.` '1, l0 and il). Thus arm 52 will be reconnected to inclined. plane 56 by plunger |58 and teeth '238 will be disengaged from gear 243. Control; bythe deector H34 is, thus fully'restored.

I-f thewind velocity7 is less than 4 M. P. H., the generator 22 will motor. Under such conditions, the generator may be cut out of system network 34B-and permitted to run under iield by magnetic switch 442 (Figure 13) which may be controlled `manually. from a remote station by switch 353- or automatically by a governor controlled switch Should it be desirable to have the wind gen- @rating unit take over the frequency control, this may be accomplished by opening switch 450 (FigureV 10) which deenergizes coil 426 of relay 368 which gives governor 218 control instead oiV gov- 8 ernor moby throwing relay arnivvtof contact 428 and relay arm 384 to contact 430.

When' the generator-2,2 is at a speed above synchronous speed; governor Z'tpivots arm 29.8 lowering arnrll andcontacty 306- to bring` it into contact: .with contact 3H)- (lFigures `8 and 10)'. Contact 385 is energized byline 381 which is connected' techni-:556. Through line 432, contact 428- and relay arm 3&4, line 3:1315 energized which, as we have seen before, results in motor |42l drivingA and deector E84' moving outwardly. When synchronous speed is reached, the governor raises Contact E25 so that-it no longer makes with contact l-lilthus stopping theY movement of the delector E24. When the generator is. below synchronous speed, the reverse operation occurs. Contact 3.48 makes contact 338 and line 388 is energized through line 434, contact 434i andJ relay arm This, as we-have-seen above, results in the energizing of coil 4t2- and-causes/ the motor |42 to move deector m4 inwardly. This increases the speed of the generator 22, and, when it arrives at synchronous speed, governor 218 will cause contact't to break from contact 358',

In the event that the speed of rotation of blades 2 exceeds a safety limit, hammer 24 (Figure 3) will,` due to centrifugal.force,` overcome the torce of springl 28 and move outwardly suciently to strikeV lever to and force it counterclockwise against the action of spring 3 l This causes rod 35 to move link fcounterclockwise, disengaging'the bar 46 from shoulder 44. This permits spring 6B to pull bell crank 48 counterclockwise and thus clamp brakeband 52 to brake drum I4 and-stop the-rotation of shaft '6 and turbine l. The brake mechanism may alsobe actuated by pivotingA lever 2B by means of a solenoid 63, operated-remotely.

When lever 38 of thel brake mechanismis actuated, it carries with it rod 435 which brings knife4'38- into contact with Contact 440 anden ergizes coil 442 of magnetic switch 424 (Figure y13) thus disconnecting .the generator 22 from the system 348.

Inladdition, as shownin Figure 10, closing knife blade-42B energizescoil 444 which causes knife 354 to make contactY 446 and knife blade 414I to break contact with contact 41.6.

C0114 i El is energized by the series circuit formed byline 35.2, line 448, relayy arm 354, contact 44, line 454), strip contact 262, contact 250 and line 42E). This causes motor 242 to drive gear 24D clockwisey resulting, as we have seen above, in motor 335 turning the blades 2 out of the` wind due to the operation of contacts 255 and 254. This turning willI continue until. contactv 26,4 rides onto the insulated block 254 which breaks the connection between strip 262. andv Contact 26!) and thus stopsy motor 242. Since strip contact 282 is 90 inextent, the blades 2 will have been turned 90 out .of the wind and it `will be apparent that through the operation of the pennant Bil., arm 252, contacts 254, 255. and 253 that they willl be maintained in a position from the. direction of the wind.

Adjustment of the eiectv of the governor 49H may. be controlled bythe amount of displacement of coil. spring 204 (Figure 12). If motor 214 is operated so as-.to ycausenut 288, to move downn wardly, the spring 284 willbe compressed and will tend'to aid the centrifugal action of the governor. This, in turn, would cause contact |256 to be located at a lower position for a given wind velocity and, as we have` seen above, thisv would cause thel deflector W4 tor be' positioned closer io theturbinesoias to-supplyv-it'with more air; Thus if We had a wind of 19 M. P. H. and the generator Was not quite fully loaded we would adjust spring 204 as shown above until it was fully loaded. The spring 322 operates in a similar manner With arm 298 and governor 218 (Figure 8).

It should be noted that this invention is not limited to the speciiic embodiment illustrated since it will be apparent that numerous modifications may be made Without exceeding the scope of the invention.

What I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. In an electric generating system, a wind turbine, a generator driven by the turbine, deflecting means for controlling the flow of air to the turbine, means responsive to Wind velocity to control said deiiecting means to prevent overloading the generator until the wind reaches a predetermined velocity, means ior changing the direction in which the turbine faces, and means responsive to Wind velocity for controlling said direction changing means which become operative when the Wind reaches said predetermined velocity to prevent overloading the generator.

2. In an electric generating system, a Wind turbine, a generator driven by the turbine, de- Ilecting means for controlling the flow of air to the turbine, means responsive to Wind velocity to control said deflecting means to prevent overloading the generator until the Wind reaches a predetermined velocity, means for changing the direction in which the turbine faces, means responsive to wind velocity for controlling said direction changing means which become operative when the wind reaches said predetermined velocity to prevent overloading the generator, and braking means for stopping the rotation of the turbine.

3. In an electric generating system, a wind turbine, a generator driven by the turbine, deflectf ing means for controlling the flow of air to the turbine, means responsive to Wind velocity to control said deiiecting means to prevent overloading the generator until the wind reaches a predetermined velocity, means for changing the direction in which the turbine faces, means responsive to Wind velocity for controlling said direction changing means which become operative when the wind reaches said predetermined velocity to prevent overloading the generator, braking means for stopping the rotation of the turbine, and means for turning and maintaining the turbine out of the Wind.

4. In an electric generating system, a Wind turbine, a generator driven by the turbine, deilect- Y ing means for controlling the flow of air to the turbine, means responsive to the turbine speed to control said deecting means so that the turbine vvill run the generator at synchronous speed until the Wind reaches a predetermined velocity, means for changing the direction in which the turbine faces, and means responsive to the turbine speed for controlling said direction changing means which become operative at said predetermined velocity to keep the turbine running the generator at synchronous speed.

5. In an electric generating system, a Wind turbine, a generator driven by the turbine, deflecting means for controlling the low of air to the turbine, :means responsive to the turbine speed to control said deflecting m'eans so that the turbine will run the generator at synchronous speed until the wind reaches a predetermined velocity, means for changing the direction in which the turbine faces, means responsive to the turbine 10 speed for controlling said direction changing means which become operative at said predetermined velocity to keep the turbine running the generator at synchronous speed, and braking means whereby the rotation of the turbine may be stopped.

6. In an electric generating system, a Wind turbine, a generator driven by the turbine, deflecting means for controlling the iiow of air to the turbine, means responsive to the turbine speed to control said deecting means so that the turbine will run the generator at synchronous speed until the wind reaches a predetermined velocity, means for changing the direction in which the turbine faces, means responsive to the turbine speed for controlling said direction changing means which become operative at said predetermined velocity to keep the turbine running the generator at synchronous speed, braking means whereby the rotation of the turbine may be stopped, and means for turning and maintaining the turbine out of the Wind.

7. In an electric generating system, a wind turbine, a generator driven by the turbine, deiiecting means for controlling the flow of air to the turbine, means responsive to wind velocity to control said deflecting means to prevent overloading the generator until the wind reaches a predetermined velocity, means for changing the direction in which the turbine faces, means responsive to wind direction for controlling said direction changing means to keep the turbine facing into the Wind until the wind reaches said predetermined velocity, and means responsive to wind velocity for controlling said direction changing means which become operative when the wind reaches said predetermined velocity to prevent overloading the generator.

8. In an electric generating system, a Wind turbine, a generator driven by the turbine, cleiiecting means for controlling the iiow of air to the turbine, means responsive to the turbine speed to control said deecting means so that the turbine will run the generator at synchronous speed until the wind reaches a predetermined velocity, means for changing the direction in which the turbine faces, means responsive to Wind direction for controlling said direction changing means to keep the turbine facing into the wind until the Wind reaches said predetermined velocity, and means responsive to the turbine speed for controlling said direction changing means which become operative at said predetermined velocity to keep the turbine running the generator at synchronous speed.

WESLEY H. RUDISILL.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 756,219 Clemson Aug. 2, 1904 1,125,783 Waters Jan. 19, 1915 1,646,723 Bonetto Oct. 25, 1927 1,677,745 Bonetto July 17, 1928 1,806,628 Hunt May 26, 1931 1,816,632 Bucklen July 28, 1931 2,106,557 Putnam Jan. 25, 1938 2,148,804 Claytor Feb. 28, 1939 2,159,886 Cullin May 23, 1939 2,179,885 Fumagalli Nov. 14, 1939 2,360,792 Putnam Oct. 17, 1944 2,363,850 Bany Nov. 28, 1944 

